Bard, Intesa Sanpaolo, Bass Pro: Intellectual Property

By Victoria Slind-Flor -
Jan 15, 2013

C.R. Bard Inc. (BCR), a maker of
catheters, moved closer to collecting hundreds of millions of
dollars as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by
W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. in a patent lawsuit over vascular
grafts.

The justices yesterday left intact a $185 million jury
verdict against Gore, the company behind the waterproof Gore-Tex
fabrics. The court gave no explanation, rejecting Gore’s appeal
as part of a list of orders released in Washington yesterday.

The potential award has risen with interest, royalties and
fees. Gore owed more than $900 million as of September, Bard
said in a regulatory filing last year. A trial judge in Arizona
is revisiting part of the award -- $185 million assessed for
acting intentionally, along with related legal fees.

The case began in 2003 and involves a dispute dating back
to 1974. At issue is a tube that helps retain the shape of non-
coronary blood vessels using a substance similar to DuPont Co.’s
Teflon, and covered by patent 6,436,135.

At the Supreme Court, Gore argued unsuccessfully that one
of its employees was a co-inventor of the grafts. Closely held
Gore, a Newark, Delaware-based maker of surgical products and
fibers, says it uses the substance for its Gore-Tex fabrics.

The two sides are still battling over the award at the
trial court in Arizona. Gore is seeking a new trial while Bard
is asking a judge to let the company collect more than $740
million. Bard is based in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Trademark

Jet Money Says It Won’t Seek to Cancel Intesa Sanpaolo Mark

Jet Money, a Russian company in the small-loan business,
has withdrawn its attempt to cancel the “Get Money to Family”
trademark held by the Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP),
RIA Novosti reported.

The Russian company has filed an application with the
Moscow Commercial Court to withdraw the suit, according to RIA
Novosti.

Jet Money had sought to cancel the registration because of
its belief that Intesa Sanpaolo hadn’t used the brand in a long
time, Ria Novosti reported.

The hearing on Jet Money’s motion is set for Jan. 25,
according to Ria Novosti.

Bass Pro Says It Doesn’t Object To Florida Outdoor Shops Logo

Bass Pro Group LLC, the Springfield, Missouri-based
sporting goods chain, has backed down in a trademark dispute
with a Florida shop that sells outdoor clothing, Tampa Bay
Online reported.

The chain had objected to a logo with the images of three
different kinds of fish used by Simple Life Outfitters of
Valrico, Florida, according to Tampa Bay Online.

Bass Pro had claimed potential customers could be confused
by an alleged resemblance to its single-bass logo and think the
two companies were affiliated, according to Tampa Bay Online.

The founder of Bass Pro showed up in the Valrico shop and
told the owner that he would stop the challenge and that going
after the small business was “not the way he wants to do
business,” according to Tamp Bay Online.

For more trademark news, click here.

Copyright

First Three-Strikes Case to Be Heard by NZ Copyright Tribunal

New Zealand’s Copyright Tribunal will hear its first case
brought under the 2011 law that permits rights holders to pursue
damages against alleged infringers who’ve received three
infringement notices, ZDNet reported.

The New Zealand Ministry of Justice told ZDNet that of the
11 pending cases, only one will require a hearing and the others
will be determined “on the paperwork.”

Cases have all been instigated by the Recording Industry
Association of New Zealand, ZDNet reported.

A study from Australia’s Monash University found that the
annual cost to copyright owners to send out the infringement
notices, if they were sent to only 2 percent of the population
of New Zealand, would be more than NZ$234 million ($197
million), according to ZDNet.

New Norwegian Copyright Legislation to Be Presented This Month

The Norwegian government is set to present proposed
amendments to that country’s copyright legislation this month,
TorrentFreak reported.

Beginning in March 2009, content owners began pressuring
TelenorASA (TEL), Norway’s largest Internet service provider, to block
alleged infringers’ access to the Pirate Bay file-sharing site,
according to TorrentFreak, the anti-copyright news website.

After a court ruled that under then-existing copyright law
Telenor didn’t have to block access to TorrentBay, rights
holders began to pressure lawmakers for changes in Norway’s
copyright scheme, TorrentFreak reported.

The government has declined to comment on the details of
any proposed changes before they are presented later this month,
according to TorrentFreak.

Heptagon Creations Copyright-Infringement Suit Dismissal Proper

Heptagon Creations Ltd., a Brooklyn, New York-based
furniture designer, was told by a federal appeals court that its
copyright-infringement case against a New York real estate
company was properly dismissed by a lower court.

The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, was related
to the use of images of Heptagon Creations’ “Andrew Joyau”
line of furniture on a television program. According to court
papers, Heptagon was approached by Core Group Marketing about
lending some of its products to furnish a condominium being
offered for sale and featured on the Home & Garden Television
show “Selling New York.”

Initially Heptagon agreed until Core Group refused to buy
an insurance policy to cover the furniture to be used on the
show. When the program aired, Heptagon said that condos was
initially shown empty while various sales strategies were
discussed. Core then created images of fully furnished rooms in
the condo that incorporated images of the Andrew Joyau furniture
without permission.

Heptagon then filed suit, claiming its copyrights and
trademarks were infringed. In December 2011 the trial court
granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the case, and
Heptagon’s appeal then followed.

In its Jan. 11 opinion, the New York-based appeals court
said the dismissal was proper and noted that twice the U.S.
Copyright Office had dismissed Heptagon’s attempts to register
the copyrights, saying the furniture was utilitarian.

The court noted that the furniture company “did not
plausibly allege facts indicating the furniture contains design
elements that are conceptually separable from the furniture’s
utilitarian functions.”

Because of this, the company “cannot plausibly allege that
Heptagon is entitled to copyright protection” for these
elements, the court ruled.

The lower court case is Heptagon Creations Ltd. v. Core
Group Marketing LLC, 1:11-cv-01794-LTS, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The appeal is
Heptagon Creations Ltd. v. Core Group Marketing LLC, 12-317, 2nd
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (New York).